Saving You
by candypir
Summary: After a tragic car accident the family is left in shambles. Derek learns the importance of family and Casey’s mental health is tested. They both need each other to lean on and learn. Eventual Dasey.
1. The call

AN: Heyy. So, this is something I thought up and really could NOT get it out of my mind until I had this chapter down. This is really a rough copy of how the story will be. I just want to see what you guys think of it through your reviews and what not. So please, tell me what you think of it. Whether or not to keep going.

This is a darker Dasey and, it will get there eventually.

I'm not giving up on **Look of Love**. No worries. I'm just breaking from it till I get all these jumbled thoughts of this one out of my head.

Disclaimer: My brother just reminded me to make sure y'all knew "I do not own these characters!" So. There you have it. I don't.

Hopefully, you'll enjoy!  
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Everything about this place scared him. But he knew, after talking to Lizzie, that he couldn't abandon Casey here. Not in a place like this. Not after 2 years.

His footsteps echoed down the hall and he went back to the day his family's life changed. The day Casey broke.

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_"Hi, Mr. Venturi?"_

_"No, this is his son, Derek. My dad isn't here."_

_"Oh, Derek, this is Sheriff Wallis. There's been an accident.."_

_He froze. He knew that the MacDonald side of his family should have been back almost 3 hours ago but he supposed they had gotten caught in traffic. Not this. Never this._

_"What happened?"_

_"They were at the intersection of Woodcot and Crystal. Witnesses claim that the vehicle that impacted their car ran the light, and after further investigation, the police found the driver was under the influence."_

_"But.. How are they?" Derek felt sick. As much as he pretended, he cared about this family._

_"The drunk driver was killed on initial impact, and your family was transported to the hospital by helicopter."_

_"Did they make it?" Derek heard the hesitation in Sheriff Wallis's voice as he spoke._

_"Derek.. I think it's best I talk to--"  
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_"Mr Venturi? Ms. MacDonald's doctor will see you now." The secretary stood, smiling at him.

As he shook his head trying to block out all thoughts, he nervously smiled. The plastic, white chair he sat on squeaked under him as he got up, breaking the silence. Several patients sitting at tables looked up at him with a surprised look, as though realizing for the first time there were other people in the room. He was led to a slightly open door, and the nerves in his stomach were wracking against his body.

"Ah, Mr. Venturi! So nice to finally meet you." The man in the lab coat stood, beckoning Derek to sit in _another_ white chair. He rolled his eyes _Everything is white here isn't it?_

"Please, call me Derek. Dr.."

"Brutka. I was informed you'd like to discuss Ms. Casey MacDonald. Is that correct?"

"Uh, yeah. I was hoping I could take her home with me. Her family and I think it would be best now. We've given her time here and--"

"I completely understand, but reviewing her files again, the hospital think it's best to keep her under strict supervision. We've barely made any headway with her condition."

"And..what exactly is her condition? In..my language? I mean, my dad knows but he doesn't like to talk about it. That and I try not to hear it." He forced a light smile out.

"Well, Derek, she's put herself in a catatonic state."

Derek's body went cold.  
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AN: Once again, this is short for a reason. I just want y'all to get a taste of it. Soo. Reviews? I'm gonna feed off what y'all say.


	2. Her eyes

AN: Thanks for the reviews y'all! I'm ready to keep typing. I could hardly get to sleep last night because of this story. I keep putting myself into this story, acting it out in my head… I think my family is worried. Hahah, anyways, here we go.

Disclaimer: Still, no.

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_"Hey, Derek? Are they here yet?" George threw open the front door and took off his jacket, smiling. He knew that his wife needed to spend time with her daughters, with Casey at college now, he knew that it would do some good. They had gone out of town for what they called "recreational therapy" he didn't know what it entailed but he wasn't going to question it. He stopped in his tracks as he looked at a crumpled Derek on the couch._

"_Derek? What's wrong?"_

_Derek looked up at his dad, not wanting to tell him but knowing he had to. _

"_We have to go to the hospital. Something's happened."_

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"Catatonic… She doesn't respond to anything? I mean. How can she just… be catatonic?" Derek was confused and though he probably wouldn't openly admit it, extremely worried.

"Well, Derek, she'll reply but only through her body motions. She hasn't spoken a word in the last 2 years. We've tried putting her through therapy but she gets aggressive. We have to put her in restraints."

At this Derek looks Dr. Brutka in the eyes. _Restraints.. no. They can't do that to her._

"I want to see her. Please."

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_"Mr. Venturi, they're all in ICU at the moment, we were able to stabilize Casey and Elizabeth but Mrs. MacDonald is still under intense hospital care. When something changes, we'll be sure to let you know."_

"_Dad? Come on. Let's go sit down." Derek tried to pull his dad to a seat, knowing that this was it for him. _

"_Mr. Venturi? I'm Sheriff Wallis, I talked to your son earlier on the phone. You must be Derek, hi." The big, rounded man put his hand out and Derek shook it weakly. His booming voice jarred George out of his revere and he shook the hand. _

"_What do you know?" George asked in a shallow tone. _

"_At 1:08 your SUV was hit from the passenger side. Casey MacDonald was driving, Nora MacDonald was in the passenger seat and Elizabeth MacDonald was in the back seat. All were wearing seatbelts, except for the driver of the other vehicle who was under the influence at the time…"_

_Derek and George froze, as they knew what was going to be said next._

_  
"…The impact killed the driver and when paramedics arrived, Nora and Casey were unconscious and moved by life flight in helicopter while Elizabeth traveled by ambulance. The doctors informed us that she was the first to be stabilized and only had a couple scratches. They are still watching her condition though."_

"_And now? Now what's going to happen?" George asked angrily. "What are we supposed to do?"_

"_Sir, all I can say to do is wait and pray." Sheriff Wallis looked at them with concern and slowly turned around and walked away._

"_Derek? What do I do? I can't just sit here and wait to find out what's wrong with them!"_

"_Dad, listen. Here's what you do. Go pick up Edwin and Marti from school, they're going to get out around now. Don't tell them anything is wrong until we find out more information. Take them over to Emily's, I'll call her house and let them know what happened. I'm sure they'll watch them for a while until this is all sorted out. Okay? Dad? Can you do that?" _

"_Derek.. I don't know what I'd do without you. You've grown up so much. Look at you. 20 and in college." George blinked past his tears. _

_Derek smiled lightly, "Dad, go. Take care of this. I'll handle it here."_

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Derek had to walk quickly, almost run, to catch the speed of the nurse's strides. He looked around this place. It was so deathly quiet, his footsteps were almost echoing. From some far off room, he heard yelling and something crash. They passed by a big, open white room with a TV and a couch. 3 people were sitting on it, watching the TV's static snow, mesmerized. He drew his eyes away and kept his eyes forward, passing all the white doors with the small square windows. As they walked, he saw people watching them out the windows. It terrified him.

They stopped at the second to last door in the hallway. For the first time, the nurse looked at him and smiled lightly. "Here we are." She said in a normal volume, but here, it was like she was yelling. She opened the door and beckoned for him to go in. He figured she wouldn't follow when she closed the door behind him.

The sights in front of him, made his legs want to run, get out of this place. But he knew he couldn't. He looked at the woman, strapped down to the bed, looking at the ceiling and mumbling incoherent words. He stepped closer to the bed. Everything in the room was white. The walls, the sheets, the floor, even the drapes that hung over the window with, surprise, white blinds.

"Oh, Casey." He whispered.

He stared at her, watched as she jerked her head to look at the offending person who muttered her name.

For a split second, he saw realization in her eyes. He saw Casey. Not this blank void that was a weak substitute for her. He wanted to break down. He wanted to cry.

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"_Mr. Venutri, Derek, we're so sorry. We did everything we could. Nora's body just wasn't reacting to everything we've done. Casey and Elizabeth are awake, I'm sure they'd like to see you. And please, for their sake, smile, talk, don't let them know what's happened." The doctor, with sadness in his eyes, walked away. _

_George broke down sobbing. Derek, still so stunned he could hardly speak, quickly went to pick his father up from the floor. _

"_Dad, come on. We still need to take care of Case and Lizzie. Please, Dad."_

"_I can't, Derek. You go without me for now. I'll be in later." His dad managed as he led himself to a seat._

_Glancing over his shoulder at his father, once more, Derek stumbled into the room where Casey was. She met his eyes and didn't let them go. _

"_Derek…Where's mom?"_

'…_smile, talk, don't let them know what's happened.'_

"_She's just resting, Case. Just resting."_

AN: There we go. I'm so attracted to this story, you don't even understand it. There were like, several times that I knew I should stop typing, but couldn't. So, I'll update it. But continue typing. Is that fine with y'all? If I put out several chapters one after another? Haha, I'll see what I can do.


	3. The meeting

AN: Heyy. I hope y'all can understand why Derek sometimes seems OOC this is a different side of him, really. I'm just figuring that this is how anyone (yes, including Derek) would react to something as devastating as this. So, with that said, I hope y'all enjoy and review.

Disclaimer: It goes without said.

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"Hey honey. How'd it go?" She came walking down the stairs, combing through her still wet hair, as she heard him walk through the door.

Derek looked up and shrugged. "Nothing really happened. I sat there and told her about everyone. She didn't say anything. It was so hard."

She gave him a small, helpful smile. "And it will be for a long time. But it's for the best. You and your family have stayed away for so long. It's time to bring her back to reality. Now come on." She said, lightly slapping his arm. "We've gotta go meet my parents in almost an hour."

"Sarah, I think I might just stay here, get some rest. You understand?" He asked his girlfriend of almost a year.

"Derek, you know how my parents are. But I'll try and explain it to them. You just go shower and get sleep, I'll be back late tonight." She kissed him and softly pushed him to the door of the bathroom.

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"Hey Dad? I'm gonna come over, alright? I need to talk with the family." Derek waited for a reply as he fiddled with the cord of the phone.

"Yeah. See you in an hour or so."

Sarah had left almost 2 hours ago and he'd taken her advice and got showered. By the time he got out, she was already gone. He had made himself a sandwich and turned on the TV, hoping to find something having to do with sports to ease himself. His mind continued to wander back to the facility where Casey was. He couldn't shake the image of her looking him in the eye, almost lifeless. As he flipped through the channels, he remembered the patients watching the snow on the TV and turned his own off. He needed to talk to his family.

Derek grabbed his leather jacket off the back of the chair next to the couch and took his keys off the counter, locking the door behind him.

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"Dad! Derek's here!" Edwin called to his dad who was in the kitchen.

Edwin hugged Derek quickly, and threw himself back onto the couch.

Derek took this opportunity to talk to his brother.

"How's he been lately?" He asked his brother. Edwin had just turned 19 and instead of moving out, opted to stay and help his dad out.

"He's uh.. He's better. He's working on it." Edwin was able to get out before they heard their dad quickly approaching.

"Hey son. How was the ..visit?" George stammered over his words. He knew Derek was going to speak with the doctors but he didn't really know what to call the meeting.

Derek smiled at his father, who after so much pain, had come to terms with his family's distress and worked so hard to make it better. Derek himself had become the strong hold with the family. Everyone had learned to go to him, still too worried about George to want to bother him.

"It went.. alright. Where's everyone else?" Derek said, looking around for his two sisters.

"Marti will be here soon, she was at a friends house when you called. And Lizzie just called before you got here, she'll be here in a couple minutes, too. She had to go over some notes with a friend." George beamed. His 2 girls had grown up so much. Marti was just about to turn 12 and was taking 5th grade by storm. Lizzie had just turned 19 and enjoying her first year of college.

"Alright, sounds good." Derek looked around. "So.. You got anything to eat?" He smiled at Edwin.

"Fine, fine. You don't have to tell me. I'll go get you something." Edwin sighed, getting off the couch. Some things really did never change.

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Derek paced the space in between the couch and the TV. He didn't know what he wanted to say, but knew something needed to be done.

"Derek!" Lizzie stood up from the couch, stopping his movements. "What's up? Why are you pacing?.. Does this have to do with the visit?" She asked softly.

Derek looked his stepsister in the eyes. He saw she was worried. None of them had seen Casey for 2 years. Not after the accident. The doctors thought it best if they didn't visit. _A lot of good that's done her _he scoffed.

"Yeah, Liz, it is." He smiled at her. He moved his eyes to the rest of his family. George did a small gesture for him to continue.

Derek took a deep breath, "I want to get Casey out of there and take care of her."

Everyone was silent for a moment before Edwin raised his hand. "Derek? That sounds great and all, but seriously, if they had said it was best for her, why not listen?"

"Because I saw her in there! Listen, I know she and I never really had gotten along but I can't just leave her in there. I mean, they have her strapped to a bed. She hasn't talked in 2 years. What good are they doing if she hasn't improved? I think if she's surrounded by us, her family, she can maybe…get better?"

Marti looked at her brother. "I think you're right., Derek." She spoke, her eyes cast down at the patterns her finger was making on the couch fabric.

"I could help you, Derek." Lizzie said, still standing next to him.

He jerked his head to look at her.

"She is, afterall, my sister… I could maybe change to taking some night classes and watch her in the day while you're at work." Lizzie smiled.

"You'd really do that? I mean, it's bound to be really hard at first and Sarah will be able to help you. I could probably take off a while from work and just stay with you guys to start off."

Lizzie smiled at him and nodded her head. They both looked toward George waiting to hear what he thought of it all.

"I think it's just wonderful what y'all want to do, but think about it. This is going to be a big responsibility. Who knows how long it could take for Casey to get comfortable?" George spoke quickly.

"Dad. We aren't in junior high anymore and it's not like she's a stray dog that we want to keep. This is Casey. Nora's Casey." Derek closed his eyes as he realized what he said. Too late to take it back.

Everyone stared at Derek, gaping at what he said. All except George, who looked down at his hands.

"Edwin? Why don't you and Marti go upstairs." The two looked around uneasily and stood up slowly. They hadn't been sent upstairs in a long time. As George heard their bedroom doors close, he looked up again, sadness consuming his eyes.

"Derek..Lizzie.. Okay." The two looked dumbfounded at eachother.

"Derek, I'll go with you on Thursday to get her. That should give you time to talk it over with Sarah. Lizzie, I'll call the administrations office and see what we can do for your courses. And until we have Casey at Derek's, every day I want you both to remember that this isn't going to be easy. And she won't be something we can just give up on and get tired of. This is Casey. **Nora's** Casey." George spoke, his voice cracking and he met Derek's eyes as tears fell.

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AN: I have the next chapter started so it should be put up soon. Review?


	4. Coming home

AN: Let's just jump right into this.

Disclaimer: Nah. Don't got it.

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"Listen. I understand what you're saying and we appreciate everything you've done for her, but it is time to take her home. Can you please get that through your head?" George spoke, tired of playing these games with this doctor who kept insisting Casey stay. "We've already set her up to stay with Derek," George nodded to his son sitting next to him, "and we have people set up to watch her around the clock. Now, please, let us take her home. We want to discharge her."

The doctor closed his eyes and nodded his head. "Very well. Let me show you to her room. I'll have the nurse's give you her files of all the information they've collected on her behavior, what she does and doesn't like, what can set her off into one of her fits, things like that."

Derek and George stood up as Dr. Brutka did as well. As Derek made his way through the same hallway as before, he was determined to keep his eyes forward, not giving them a chance to glance at the patients watching the fuzz on the TV or the eyes following him down the hall through their little door windows.

When they came, at last, to her door, Dr. Brutka put his hand out. "It was truly nice to meet the both of you. If you ever have any concerns, please, let us know. Our number will be in the file." He opened the door and Derek saw her again. Lying there strapped down. His heart finally broke.

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"_Derek. I can't do this. I know you have been through a lot of stuff with your family, but what you're asking of me? It's always just you and your family. When will it ever be __**us**__? I'm sorry, Derek."_

"_Sarah, okay, I know this is a lot and I'm sorry that I volunteered our place, but if you had just seen her there, you would understand how--"_

"_No.. I don't think I'll ever understand. I'm so sorry." She looked at him. He looked devastated, but she had to do this. She kissed him on his cheek lightly and backed away from him. _

_Derek couldn't move. He couldn't think. 'What was happening?'_

"_--I'll just go gather my things."_

_----_

_Derek sat on the couch, completely still. Hadn't moved since he sat down when she gathered her things. He'd heard her set the keys on the counter. He'd heard her mutter a goodbye. He'd heard her close the door. And all he did was sit._

_Derek found his phone, knowing he needed to place some calls. He dialed the number he'd never forget. It went straight to voicemail like it always did._

_"**Hi! You've reached me, Casey. Sorry I couldn't answer, but if you just leave me a message I will definitely call you back when I can! Derek! Get out of here! Sorry, anyways, just leave a message!" **_

_He sighed as he hung up the phone. He turned it on again and made another call._

_"Hey, Dad. I talked to Sarah… Yeah. Let's go get Case tomorrow, alright?… Yeah. Thanks, Dad. See you tomorrow morning."_

_Derek hung up and placed the phone back on its base. Resignedly, he climbed the stairs up to his loft. He had gotten most of his apartment ready for tomorrow. And he knew, with everything in him, that this was going to be harder than any of them had imagined. Still, he knew it had to be done._

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Lizzie went ahead of him and unlocked his front door. She had met him at his apartment to help Casey get settled in. Thankfully, Casey had slept the whole car ride and continued to sleep as Derek carried her up the stairs. It helped that he was only on the second floor.

"Okay, Lizzie. Will you go open the bedroom door on the left? That's where I figured I'd put her." Lizzie nodded and went ahead still.

Derek followed after, placing Casey into the bed. He had opted for white bed sheets and curtains. He figured it would be better to ease her in slowly. The walls were already white so, he had gotten lucky in that department. He didn't know if he would have been able to paint a whole room in 2 days. Closing the curtains and turning on the small night-light that had been bought, Lizzie and Derek left the room, closing the door behind them.

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Lizzie had just left. They had worked out a schedule for helping Casey. Earlier this morning, Derek had called into work asking for a couple weeks of sick leave. They had said that he could have 2 weeks, but any time after that would have to cut into his vacation time.

Derek grabbed the unopened folder off his kitchen counter and threw himself onto the couch, setting his can of beer on the table.

"Let's see what they have to say here.."

He scanned through all the notes focusing on what she does and doesn't like.

**-Does not like water. **"Wonderful.. I guess that's what we'll have to work on first thing.."

**-Does not like the sound of the TV.** "Ohh, typical Casey. Something's just don't change about you."

**-Does not like glass cups.** Derek looked into his kitchen from where he was, noticing the glasses in his sink. "Perfect.. Bottles, it is for now then.."

**-Does not like the dark.** "Never has.." He muttered, silently thanking himself for getting the night-light

Derek looked up at the sound of something coming from her room.

He froze when he saw her standing in the doorway, staring at him, her eyes filled with worry.

He slowly stood up, walking towards her without fast movements, hoping to not scare her.

"Derek?" He stopped. She spoke. She said his name. She recognizes him. "Derek? Where's mom?"

"Casey.. You should be in bed, come on. Let's tuck you back in."

She allowed herself to be led back into the bedroom, lying back down, she grabbed his hand.

He watched her eyes as they focused onto the ceiling. They shifted slightly to look at him again.

"Derek? Where's mom?" She asked again, softly, before her eyes drooped closed and she fell into a slumber.

Striding to the breakfast table, he grabbed one of the chairs and pulled it back to the room. He placed it next to her bed and sat down. Gently, he pulled her hand into his own, squeezing it to let her know he was still here.

"She's just resting," He whispered to the darkness. "Still just resting.."

AN: Kay. There we go. I know it may seem "fast" that she spoke, but don't worry. I have plans for that. I actually was not intending for her to speak so quickly, but thinking on what I'd like to do- I figured I needed to. Also, I'll be putting in an AN right after this so as to put in a link for an image I made, it's a layout of the actual apartment I've created so as I go on in the apartment, you'll be able to understand where we're at, physically. It took me** foreverr **to do. So as always, please **review**.


	5. Bath time

AN: Hey, I put the link in my profile instead.

I appreciate, greatly, the reviews I have received. I intend on working on this story the whole summer if I have to. I'm so excited for it. So, enjoy.

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Derek answered his door looking excited, exhausted, and out of breath.

"Derek, you look like crap." Lizzie smiled at him as he ran a hand through his hair and gingerly smiled.

"Yeah well.. Didn't sleep much."

"I brought donuts." She grinned as he grabbed the bag she had held up and took it to the kitchen.

Stuffing his face with one, he ran upstairs to his room.

"I'm gonna go get changed!" He garbled as he still ate his donut.

Lizzie looked around the kitchen. She couldn't find a glass in any of the cupboards.

"Hey, Derek! Where are your glasses?" She yelled up to him, hoping he'd hear her from his bedroom.

She saw him come to the lookout and look at her.

"I have to go into the store today."

The both of them suddenly heard screaming. Derek, eyes wide with terror, ran down the stairs skipping steps, and threw open her door. He heard Lizzie shuffle after him.

The curtains were ripped down, the sheets were thrown off the bed leaving only the mattress cover, and Casey was a crumpled mess in the corner of the room, still screaming.

Derek cautiously entered her room, making just enough movements that she was able to watch him step towards her. She continued to scream.

"Hey, Case. Good morning." He said, hoping to soothe her.

The light filtered in through the uncovered windows; washing in like the ocean's tide. She quieted some, eyes wide with confusion, still following his movements closely.

As he knelt towards her, she got up quickly and ran to the other corner directly across from the room, putting her hand out as if to say 'Don't you dare come any closer.'

"Casey. It's me. It's Lizzie." Derek turned his head to the door to look at the smaller frame. He watched her put out her hand in a welcoming way, hoping Casey might take it.

Casey's eyes flew to the figure in the door. Still whimpering, she stood up slowly and made her way to the naked bed, holding her knees to her chest and watching the two of them. Derek stood, and sat on the foot of the bed, reaching a hand out to stroke her hair.

"It's okay, Case. It's just Lizzie and me. We won't hurt you." He watched as Casey closed her eyes and leaned her head on her kneecaps.

Derek and Lizzie made their way to his kitchen table and sat down.

"The folder they gave us, it said she didn't like water and various other things. You can read it later on. I have to go get some things for her at the store, and I figured maybe you could work on that with her." Lizzie nodded in assentation.

"Just.. maybe set her in the bathtub so she can get used to it. Then I guess, bathe her with cups of water. The file said they always gave her sponge baths to "accommodate" her. Hopefully we can wean her from that though. Maybe get her taking showers."

"Yeah, that sounds great. I'll call you if anything happens, alright? Don't worry about us. We should be fine."

Derek nodded and grabbed his jacket.

Before reaching the door, he turned and looked at Lizzie.

"Hey. I'll have my cell on. Don't be afraid to call."

Lizzie smiled at him in assurance and walked towards Casey's room.

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"Derek! Where are you?!" Derek heard the franticness in her voice.

"I'm just pulling up, what happened, Lizzie?"

"I don't know, everything was fine, and then she started screaming!"

"I'll be there in a second."

Leaving all the bags in the car, he ran up the stairs two at a time, unlocked, and threw open the door in a flurry. He had heard the screaming from the bottom of the stairs.

There was no one in her room, so he followed the sound of her screaming to the bathroom. She had her hair wet and kept pulling at it. Derek instinctively grabbed one of the towels from the rack and Lizzie helped pick Casey from the tub. He wrapped the towel around her body, throwing another towel into Lizzie's hands. He made his way to the couch, with her wet form still screaming and enwrapped in his arms. He sat her down on the couch and murmured to Lizzie to sit next to her and hold her hand.

Grasping the towel out of Lizzie's hands, he began to methodically dry and wrap Casey's hair into it. After a couple moments, the screaming had ceased and as Derek continued to calm her, they watched as her eyes drooped close and her body got limp against the couch.

Smiling nervously to Lizzie, he whispered "Only two sessions so far, we must be doing something right." She let out a release of breath and laughed lightly.

Heading to the kitchen, Lizzie declared that she'd make some food for them.

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"I'll bring some extra clothes tomorrow for her. She has to be my size or around it. She's too tiny to be in anything bigger."

Derek nodded and continued to change into his pajamas from his loft.

Walking down the steps, he remembered something.

"Dad, Edwin, and Marti want to come over for dinner tomorrow. I told them that should be fine as long as you're alright with cooking."

She laughed and hit him. "Yeah, it's okay." Looking at her watch she sighed. "I guess it's time for bed. I'll see you in the morning." He watched her make her way out safely, and turned back to the couch.

Casey was still sleeping soundlessly. Getting her file from upstairs, he took a seat in the chair next to the couch. Glancing over at her again, he smiled.

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and laid a blanket on her body. He watched as she tucked herself more into the couch.

"Goodnight, Casey."


	6. Laughter and dinner

AN: sorry this isn't coming out as steadily as the others, every weekend I go out of town so it was killing me that I couldn't update. But I was thinking about this chapter the whole time and got it all sorted out in my head.

Thanks for the reviews, I love seeing them as much as I hope y'all love the chapters.

Honestly, checking my email and seeing another review just excites me as much as like… a 4 year old getting candy. No joke.

Disclaimer: Sigh

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"Hey!" Derek called as he stepped into his apartment, carrying more shopping bags.

"Hey, Derek. We're in here." He heard Lizzie call from the kitchen. He walked in, leaning the bags against the counter's wall. He saw Casey sitting in one of the chairs next to Lizzie, who had books spread out in front of her.

"What's in those?" Lizzie nodded towards the bags. Derek watched as Casey's eyes watched him slowly pull items from them.

"These.." He paused as he pulled more plastic cups from the bags, setting them on the counter top, "Are for her." He said, pointing to Casey.

"I also bought her some new sheets." Lizzie looked at him as he pulled out light blue and purple sheets.

"What? She actually shredded her white ones this morning. It was incredible to watch, deafening to hear." He smiled lightly at Casey and Lizzie, who had a quizzical look plastered on her face. _He seems so.. happy? _

"What's wrong with you, Derek?" Lizzie blurted out at he rinsed out one of the cups and filled it with drinking water and did the same with two more.

"What are you talking about, Liz?"

"You seem so.."

"Carefree? Happy?" Derek finished what he knew she was going to.

"Yeah.. why?"

"Well," He placed one of the cups next to Lizzie and another next to Casey, kissing the top of her head lightly and murmuring a soft 'hey', "It just feels.. good to know that she's here now, she's not in that, that _place_ anymore. It feels good to know that maybe, if we work hard enough, we can have Casey back."

Casey was staring at the cup of water sitting in front of her, and when she heard her name spoken, she looked up at Derek, who was pulling out a chair to sit across from Lizzie, who in turn sighed.

"And how's school coming? You still staying on top of things?" He asked, nodding his head at the books spread out on the table.

"Oh, yeah. Luckily I didn't have any classes tonight so I figured I'd get some homework done and then start on dinner for George, Edwin, and Marti. They called, by the way." She looked at Derek's face who threw a side-glance at Casey. "I told them they should probably come by around 7 or so. That's alright?"

"Oh, yeah sure. I was wondering, how did bathing her go today?"

"It went better than yesterday. Though she did end up running out of the bathroom and onto the couch still soaking wet." Derek laughed lightly at this.

"Well, I figured I'd start helping out some more. Not always leaving during the day for you to do everything." With this he stood up, and picked the new sheets off the counter.

Casey stood up after him, following as he cut the ties and plastic wrap off the sheets and walked to her room to make her bed.

She stood in the doorway, watching him as he made the bed and patted it for her, motioning for her to sit down on it. She cautiously sat down, still watching him. He sat down next to her and smiled, gesturing to the sheets.

"Is that better, Casey? No more white sheets anymore. I got some purple ones for you. You remember when that was the only color you liked for the longest time? You always wore it, even your old bed sheets were purple and pink. It was so annoying." Derek laughed out loud and looked over at Casey. "I can't wait for you to come back to us, Case."

He sighed and looked around the bedroom. Plain. Simple. Unlike Casey's old, cluttered yet so neat room. He got up and headed for the hallway.

"I'm going to help Lizzie make dinner, Casey. Dad, Edwin, and Marti are going to come see you. Would you like to come watch us cook?"

He watched her face, unsure and worried. She slowly stood up from the bed and followed him to the kitchen.

-------------

At 5 minutes till 7, Derek and Lizzie heard the doorbell, startling Casey who got up from the kitchen chair she sat in and skittered across the living room, into her room.

Lizzie, laughing out loud, grabbed the bread pan out of the oven and set it on the heat pads Derek had gotten for her from the cabinets.

"I'll go get it. You gonna finish up in here?" Derek said, wiping his hands on a cloth after he quickly set the table. He waited for Lizzie to nod, still chuckling to herself at Casey's behavior, before heading to open the door.

"Hey, Dad." Derek answered the door, a smile on his face that surprised his father and his younger siblings.

"Hey, Smerek. Where's Lizzie?" Marti smiled, using the old nickname, and pushing past her father.

"She's in the kitchen, Smarti."

"I'm going to watch some TV." Edwin sighed, pushing past his father, still standing in the doorway.

"How's she doing, Derek?"

"You know, she's uh, she's actually doing really well. We have some problems here and there but.. we're not having too man--"

Derek was cut off by the sound of screaming. Spinning around, he saw Casey, knees to her chest, on the floor of the entrance to the living room from the hallway. She was covering her ears and pointing at something. Derek followed her finger and saw it.

_**  
-Does not like the sound of the TV.-**_

Quickly walking, he grabbed up the remote from his brother and shut off the TV quickly.

Everyone was frozen, nobody knew what to do.

Lizzie threw off the apron Derek had given her prior to making dinner and let it land on the floor as she ran to the screaming girl and enclosed her arms around her. She quieted down some and continued to stay wrapped in Lizzie's arms.

Everyone continued to stare at Lizzie and Derek, who had handled the situation without saying a word. Derek stumbled towards the two and lightly led Casey to stand up.

Casey looked around at everyone else in the apartment with uneasy eyes.

"Well uhm. Lizzie and I made some spaghetti and garlic bread. Let's not let it get cold, huh?" He said to the increasingly silent room. He thought back to that first day when he was visiting Casey and how all he could hear were his footsteps. How much that drove him crazy, not literally of course.

Derek led the way to the table, still gently holding onto Casey's arm.

Everyone else, still unsure of what to do, followed after.

------------------------

AN: There. It was.. really hard to finish this chapter. I really just needed to get it down for my inspiration to come for the rest of the chapters. I hope you don't all hate me for the long delay?


	7. Small smiles and waffles

AN: Here's anotherr. It's short but, I'm letting you decide how to continue with this chapter. And I just wanted y'all to see how Derek and Casey interact with eachother without Lizzie around.

Oh, and in response to **sydmoonlight**, Derek and Casey are both 23.

Disclaimer: I don't own. But.. I do pwn? Hah.

-----

Derek was getting dressed when he heard the phone ringing from the kitchen. He pushed his arms through the sleeves of his shirt and jogged down the stairs, just glancing at the caller ID before picking up.

"Hello? Oh, wow, hey, Sarah." Derek took a deep breath as he heard his ex-girlfriends voice."...Yeah it's been a week now... She's doing pretty good... Yeah, Edwin and the others saw her a couple nights ago. It went well. So, how have you been?... That's really good to hear. I'm glad you called... Yeah, I know. Just one of those things that had to happen." Derek looked up from the spot on the counter that had had him mesmerized. He saw Casey standing next to the couch, looking around for something.

"Listen, I'm really sorry to have to cut this short but-.. Yeah, exactly. We'll talk more later? Alright, bye Sarah." Derek hung up the phone, still surprised to have heard from Sarah.

"Hey, Case. Uhm, you want some breakfast? I was just about to make some waffles or something." Derek ran his hand through his hair, looking around the kitchen trying to gather his thoughts once again. He looked back at Casey who was no longer in the spot she had been. His eyes searched and moments later, he found her. She was walking up the stairs to his loft.

"Case? What's up?" She turned her head to look over her shoulder down at him and continued walking. She disappeared as she made her way onto the landing and further into his room. He continued staring at the loft, waiting for her to make an appearance at the stairs again. Instead, he saw her walk to the partition and look down at him. He smiled up at her and walked into the kitchen, his eyes still glued to her as she looked at the apartment from overhead.

He began pulling ingredients from the cabinets for waffles and putting them on the counter. When, he found everything, he went back to the counter to see Casey still standing in the same spot at the short wall.

"Hey. I'm about to make waffles, want to watch?" He waited for her to make a decision as her curious eyes did a look over once more of the apartment before landing on him again. He watched a slow, but sure, smile spread over her face before she made her way down the stairs again. She made her way into the spot she always stood in the kitchen.

It had became a routine. He and Lizzie would always invite her to watch them cook, sure she'd say yes, but still giving her the choice. And she always watched them, sure to stay out of the way, but so she could still see. They'd let her taste test the food or lick the spoons.

"Liz said she won't be able to stop by today. Said she found herself a lunch date." He threw a glance at Casey and smiled, as he began breaking the cooking process.

"You know, you've been with us a week now? Doesn't it feel nice not being in that place anymore? You have better sheets, better clothes, better people. We're going to take care of you, you know that right? Dr. Brutka," he scoffed at the name and continued, "he was sure you should stay there but from that first look at you in two years, I knew you couldn't. And look, you've already spoken some and you smiled just today. That's more than those _doctors_ can say." Derek always did this, and he knew he did. He would ramble to her. He didn't know if she understood everything he was saying, but he spoke to her anyways.

As Derek finished making the waffles, he began setting the table for two.

"Now come on, let's eat some. It's already almost noon. And today is the first day we're spending together without Lizzie." He watched her eyes fly from the plate in front of her to his eyes.

----

"Casey, we're going to do this okay? Because we need to get you bathed and I am not going to give you a sponge bath. I wouldn't do it before and I am not doing it now. You have to get used to the water. So come on. I'm going to help you." Derek stood in his boxers and allowed a bit more water to flow into the bath tub before shutting it off. He stood up straight again and saw Casey's eyes move to the open door.

He sighed as he shut the door and locked it.

"Come on. It's locked, Casey. And I don't care how much screaming you do, I lived with you before, I'm pretty sure I'm used to it now."

He grabbed her hand and knelt to the bathtub.

"Look, there's barely any water in here. Can we do this, Case?" Her eyes stared at the water and then moved to his face.

He sighed as he stood back up and stepped into the bath tub, putting his hand out for her to take it. He offered a small smile to her.

----

So, what do y'all think.

Should she take his hand or not?

I have both situations played out in my head so really, this is based off what you, the readers, choose.


	8. A touch of kindness

AN: Wow. I am so sorry about the lack of updates. I won't try to make excuses, but simply give you reason.

After the last chapter was posted, I started the next one on my brother's computer and just about had it done. For some unknown reason, his computer soon crashed and chaos ensued. The computer was dead and we were unable to retrieve any files// documents on it. We have finally just got a new computer up and running.

So, once again, I am so utterly sorry. I wish I could have written so much more but, I thought getting out a chapter, as short as it may be, is better than nothing.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from Life With Derek, I simply put them in situations that are my own.

---------------------------------

Casey looked at his hand once again, before quickly turning and grabbing the door knob.

"Casey. No. Stop it." He tried to still her hands as she rattled the door. She stopped shaking the knob and her shoulders slumped. She looked at Derek as he stood in the bathtub. He raised his eyebrows and smiled lightly. "Come on. Let's get this over with so we can do something better. It's all downhill from here, Case." He extended his hand again, in a slow movement.

Casey raised her hand and gently slipped it into his as she allowed herself to step into the tub. The warm water pooled around her ankles and rippled against her skin away from her. She met Derek's eyes uneasily and he released her hand cautiously.

"See? The water's warm. I'm going to sit down first, okay?" He nodded at her hoping she would understand.

Derek sat in the shallow water and motioned for Casey to sit between his legs. As she did so, Derek reached over the side of the tub and picked up the plastic cup he'd brought in and dipped it into the water.

Getting her hair wet, he rinsed it and continued on to use shampoo and conditioner. When she began to get restless in the tub, and turned her body to catch his eyes and he nodded.

"Okay, let's get out of here. Look, we're already turning pruney." He spoke with laughter lacing his voice as she quickly dashed out of the tub and stood on the rug switching from foot to foot impatiently waiting for Derek to get out.

Grabbing one of the light purple towels, he opened it widely with his arms open allowing her to step in and him to wrap his arms around her. Her hands grabbed at the towel and shivered coldly. He unlocked the door and as soon as his hand escaped the lock, Casey threw open the door and ran to the room. Chuckling, Derek grabbed a blue towel off the shelf and stepped into the hallway. He wrapped the towel around his waist, and tucked it in so it could stay up.

Walking the short distance to the kitchen, he cleared off the table, dropping the dishes in the sink and putting the syrup and peanut butter back in the cabinets.

Craning his neck to see into the hallway, he saw that Casey's bedroom door was still closed shut. Silently, his feet padded against the wood floor and up the stairs. He threw the towel on to the partition and gathered clothes up for him to change into.

Just as he was pulling his long sleeved, green shirt on- he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. His eyes flew to the top of the stairs and he saw Casey standing in a simple, light pink skirt and faded, black long sleeved shirt. He saw she was biting her lip and refusing to meet his eyes.

"Case? What's up?" He took a steady step towards her and her eyes jerked up and searched his face. He halted his actions and raised his eyebrows.

From behind her back, he saw her lift up a small brush, the one he had seen when Lizzie brought stuff over for her, the one that was Nora's and had been for years.

Sighing, Derek's hand reached into his hair and he combed it with his hand. He turned around, wanting Casey to come in on her own and not try to push her.

Hearing his bed sigh with pressure being put on it, he smiled to himself and began walking to his dresser, still not facing Casey.

"Derek?.." He stopped dead in his tracks, halfway to his dresser and slowly turned to face the girl who sat, perched on the end of his bed. He tried to meet her eyes but she continued to stare at the fading flowers on her skirt.

"Will..Will you..?" She limply raised the brush in her hand into the air before she dropped her hand once again into her lap, the brush rolling out of her grasp and onto his bed.

"Case.." Derek approached his bed, reaching it he picked up her brush and held it, felt the wood of the handle, the feel of the abstracted carvings in it. He smiled gently at her. "Turn around."

She lifted her legs up onto the bed and pulled herself into sitting crosslegged. Derek went to the window right above his bed and lifted the blinds so the sunlight would pour in, like sheets of rain after a long awaited drought.

He stood behind her, both of them staring out the window as he methodically brushed her hair softly.

Derek continued brushing her hair even after he felt it had dried. He saw Casey's reflection in the window, saw that her eyes were closed, her pale skin basking in the sunlight.

He dropped his hand and bent his head, letting a light kiss fall onto the top of her head. Her reflection in the window smiled.

"Come back to us, Case. We're all waiting for you."

Derek climbed onto the bed, sitting crosslegged as well right beside her.

Derek felt Casey's head fall onto his shoulder and the two watched as the orange sun set and the world continued moving through the motions of the day.

--------------------------

AN: This honestly just emotionally drained me. I did end up writing much more than I thought and I can only hope it will make up for my long delay. I promise I'll try to get another chapter out as soon as I can.


	9. The windows

AN: Thank you all so much for giving me a second or third or fourth chance. Really, who's counting anyways?

This is another chapter, just for y'all. Another day in the life of Casey, Derek, and Lizzie.

It's a work in progress, I know. But, I'm already starting up the next chapter. It'll be up later on. After I get some feedback, I suppose.

After I started writing this, I really couldn't stop. The words just kept coming to me.

But tell me, do any of y'all read Sarah Dessen's books? If so, let me know which ones. I've just read two more that I can add to my series of her books. I only have 2 more to get before I have them all. I'm ecstatic.

Disclaimer: What would happen if.. I stopped doings these? You think I'd get some news, maybe a lawsuit of sorts, from Life With Derek? Cause.. I'd totally go to court if I could meet the gang. I probably won't test this theory.

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"Morning." Derek nonchalantly walked into the kitchen, ruffling his bed hair. He looked at Casey, eating a bowl of cereal.

"Morning." Lizzie replied, setting a bowl on one of the place mats for Derek.

"Oh, Liz. You're too good to me." He laughed, motioning to the bowl.

"You better believe it and not forget it.You'd be lost without me." Lizzie grinned at him, returning to the table with a bowl of cereal of her own as he nodded in agreement.

"You know," Derek started, side glancing at Casey who was so concentrated on the cereal and marshmallows that she paid little attention, "I have to go back in to work tomorrow. I've taken off a lot of time, and we've made a lot of progress with Case, yeah?"

Liz looked at him and then back at Casey. She nodded slightly, still unsure of how good of a job they were doing with her.

They found that now, she can bathe in the tub, but only with someone in the tub with her, or at the very least in the bathroom watching. She will go to sleep in her bed, but only to wake up in the middle of the night and move to Derek's up in the loft. And last of all, that she can listen to music, as long as it's quiet, without screaming or running into her bedroom.

"Hey, Case," Derek spoke, snapping his fingers lightly in front of her face. Her chair pushed back, as the startled girl stood suddenly, staring at him. "It's okay, I was just thinking.. Maybe we could go to the park today? The weather isn't so bad and I thought we could get you out of the house. How's that sound?"

Casey looked back and forth from Derek to Lizzie. She slowly began to back up from the table, cereal still left in her bowl, before she ran to her room and close the door.

"Well then. What do you think **that** means?" Derek said, a grin forming. Lizzie laughed as she began to clear the table of their breakfast bowls.

-----------------

An hour later, Derek was showered and dressed for the day, given things may happen.

Lizzie was sitting on the couch, books spread about her as she wrote hurriedly on pieces of paper, notes strewn on the coffee table. Derek placed himself in the recliner chair that sat to the left of the couch and looked out the floor-to-ceiling window that loomed behind the TV.

It was the windows in the apartment that really caught his eye. He loved being able to look out and see the people, going about their own days, totally unaware of the nakedness windows made them. Allowing them to be watched as they moved throughout the city. He'd seen tons of apartments with windows, but these windows here, were huge. The ceilings, high from having the loft, opened the apartment up and even more so when the curtains were pulled open. It helped that there was also a loft, which also had the enormous window behind his bed that covered from floor to ceiling.

His glass fortress..

His snow globe..

He waited for someone, something, to shake his world- to fix what was empty. To snow. He needed Casey, just as much as she needed him. It was only now that he realized this.

"You opened the drapes?"

"Mmhm, it seemed too dark in here. Too.." Lizzie trailed off, not taking her eyes off the paper at hand.

"Gloomy. I know. She'll come out soon." Just as Derek said it, they heard a door open, a scurry of movements, and then another door click shut.

Derek, leaning back in the recliner to look into the hallway, sighed when he saw her bedroom door now open, and the bathroom door closed.

"It really is a nice day out. We don't see those often around here. Maybe I could talk to her? Convince her about the park?" Lizzie finally shifted her eyes from her homework to Derek, finally looking at how tired his eyes looked.

"We could all get out, you know. You included." Liz smiled at him, reassuring him that she knew he was worried without having to say anything.

Derek sat up in the chair and shook his head somberly. "It's okay. It's up to her if she wants to go out- I'm not going to try to push her, Liz. That would just rile her up. I want her to take her own time."

At the sound of the bathroom door opening once again, Derek pushed back the recliner chair, staring into the hallway.

His breath caught in his throat at what he saw. Even more so by what he heard.


	10. A walk

AN: Alright, alright, so I'm an awful updater. Honestly, I don't even know why you are all still putting up with me but hey, definitely no complaints here. I am loving this story, and hoping to get to a really awesome part where I can just make time stand absolutely still so I can write it all out.

Unfortunately, I am in marching band, which consumes about 18 hours of my day. Horrible, I know. Especially having to work out in this 90 degree something heat everyday here in Texas. This Tropical Storm Erin gave us a lucky break with the thunderstorms though Nonetheless, my parents and I came to the ultimate decision that on Monday, I would be quitting band. I'm terrified to do so.

Disclaimer: Sometimes, at night, I dream I own the show. Then, I wake up and laugh at myself.

------

"Can we go to the park?" Casey held her chin high, defiantly. Her voice was meek due to the lack of use. Her small frame stood before them, fearful courage glittering her eyes.

Derek's eyes skipped between Lizzie's and Casey's in a matter of seconds, his mind racing. He looked at her, had he not been taking care of her every day, he would never have guessed she was unstable. She wore a light pink and yellow sun dress, her hair done neatly, half up and half down- held with a small butterfly clip. He'd seen Lizzie in the outfit once before, before the accident, before Casey went into lock down.

"Awe, Case, sure!" Lizzie glanced at Derek once more before jumping from the sofa and going to take Casey's hand. Casey looked at Lizzie uneasily and smiled, then, turning her eyes back to Derek, she put her hand out before her.

"Case, we really don't have to go if you don't want to. If it's too soon or anything, we can sit inside, I can read you a book or something." Derek was shocked. He wondered if she was up to something.

A) She had never said a full sentence like this in almost 2 weeks.

B) She got dressed up, on her own, without any of their help. She was able to do her own hair and everything.

C) It didn't take her _near _as long as it used to to get ready as it did before the accident, but she still looked amazing.

Casey's chin rose again and she shook her head, reiterating her open hand by thrusting it up and down at him. Lizzie looked at Derek and nodded to him, hoping he would take Casey's hand.

Derek sighed and stood from the chair. He nodded at Lizzie without meeting her gaze.

"Alright, Case. Let's go." He smiled briefly taking her hand. As her grip tightened on it, she met his eyes and smiled broadly at him. His smile grew and he laughed a little.

------

Derek looked back in the rear view mirror as he drove. Lizzie sat next to him in the passenger seat. He grimaced at the memory of Casey refusing to sit next to him.

Her eyes turned from happiness to utter fear as they tried to guide her into the seat. She had begun whimpering and turned into Derek's arms as Lizzie met his eyes, hopelessness filling them. They heard the sobs racking through Casey's body and Derek wrapped his arms around her, murmuring that everything would be okay. He had nodded his head towards the back door to Lizzie. She opened it and Derek slid Casey into the seat with ease. She hiccuped a few times, her tears subsiding, and still clung to Derek's hand as Lizzie buckled Casey in from the other side of the car. It was then silently decided that Liz would sit up front with him.

Derek watched as Casey's eyes danced at the images passing by. His apartment was close enough to walk to the park but they figured it would be easier to just drive with Casey, not wanting anything to set her off.

Finding the park, he pulled into one of the closest parking spots he could find. He looked in the rearview mirror once again before unbuckling himself. Lizzie was out the door and opening the back one when he realized that Casey's lips were moving, with nothing coming out of them. She looked unsure as she continued to move her mouth. It looked irregular, like she was concentrating on forming the incoherent words.

"You want to go on a walk, Casey? We can go on one of the shaded paths, maybe sit down on the grass for awhile." Lizzie spoke enthusiastically, hoping Casey would agree.

Casey nodded her head slightly, watching as Derek removed himself from the car. As Derek stood up and straightened himself out, he ran his hand through his hair. Feeling the cool breeze, he was thankful he had thought ahead and brought his leather jacket for Casey. Moving to the trunk, he opened it and pulled the jacket out. Moving to the other side of the car, he placed the jacket on Casey's shoulders. She froze before allowing Lizzie to help her arms go through the sleeves.

"Oh, Case. That jacket definitely looks good with your outfit today." Derek smirked at her as she grimaced at him and looked down at herself. Bringing her head back up, she smiled largely at him. He offered his right hand out to her, the ring on his middle finger catching the sunlight. Her eyes caught the sight of the ring and accepted his hand, placing her hand in front of her for Lizzie's. Lizzie smiled and grabbed the open hand.

"This is going to be so much fun, isn't it, Derek? Today is just so pretty. The perfect day to do this!" She laughed as Derek's eyes rolled and he nodded his head in agreement, smiling at her.

-----

They walked silently along the path, every so often Lizzie or Derek would murmur something to Casey or the other. Pointing at simple things, like squirrels and flowers, Casey would draw the attention of her company from their own thoughts to nature's greatest gifts.

They held each other's hand ever so carefully, making sure never to let go of Casey's. She would stop walking and stare up at the sky, or the trees that made a canopy above their heads, almost like they were in a forested home. The roof being the trees, the squirrels being their pets- as skittish as they may be, and every image surrounding them being their pictures, plastering the walls around them, never letting them forget this moment.

"Casey? Where would you like to stop and sit for a bit?" Derek broke the silence, but only speaking loudly enough for Casey and Lizzie to hear. Casey bit her lip and didn't answer. Just as they crossed over a small wooden bridge, where a small creek ran below their feet, she pointed at a spot. Derek's eyes followed her small finger and saw a clearing, lined with flowers. He looked back at her, her eyes filled with hope, and he nodded. Lizzie led them, and sat on the ground. She spread herself out, her elbows propping up her upper body as she let her legs lay in front of her.

Derek and Casey followed. He followed suit and laid down a small distance away from Lizzie. Casey stood, looking down at her two siblings. All three were silent for minutes. Just as Derek was about to nod off to sleep, a sound made him open his eyes and look around. Lizzie had done the same, and they both looked in front of them. Casey sat in her seemingly normal position, her knees were pressed against her chest and her arms were wrapped around her legs, holding them in place.

Casey stared into their eyes, and lowered her eyes.

"Thank you." She whispered, allowing a few tears to slip from the corners of her eyes.

------------------------

Lizzie had just left the apartment. She had to go back to her place, needing to do her neglected homework.

Derek cleared the table from dinner and washed the dishes quickly.

Casey sat on the couch in her pajamas, staring out the window watching the world pass by.

Derek, wiping his hands on a drying cloth, came to sit on the couch next to Casey, leaving a respectable distance between them. He felt the need to still give her space, just so she wouldn't be set off. He threw the cloth and propped his feet on the coffee table in front of the couch.

Casey moved slightly, removing the distance between them, and placed her head on his shoulder, his right arm wrapping around Casey's shoulders.

Derek smiled to himself as he joined her in watching people; businessmen and women, college students, families. All scurrying to their homes, to where they belonged. And at that moment, while Derek combed his fingers gently through Casey's hair, he realized where **he** belonged.

----

_As soon as Derek heard her, he remembered her in the car before she got out- when she was moving her mouth awkwardly, trying to form words. _She was practicing talking_? He was stunned. He watched her carefully, her hand never moving to wipe the stray tears that still donned on her cheek. _

_She met his eyes and slowly crawled to sit in between Lizzie and him. She smiled at Lizzie and waited for Lizzie to return the smile, before placing her head on her knees again, watching the water of the creek flow over the rocks. _

_Derek and Lizzie both lay back down on the soft, green grass below them. The clouds above them passed with ease, a slow, methodic rhythm. Once again, Derek's eyes began to drift close. He closed his eyes and listened to the wind blow through the trees, he listened to the babbling brook, he listened to the steady breathing of the girl sitting beside him. Suddenly, he felt slight pressure and weight being applied to his chest. He opened his eyes and glanced down. Casey had laid her head on his chest. _

_Casey lay on the soft, green grass below her, placing her head onto Derek's chest. The clouds above her passed with ease, a slow, methodic rhythm. She closed her eyes and listened to the wind blow through the trees, she listened to the babbling brook, she listened to the steady heartbeat of the boy lying beneath her. _

_Suddenly, she felt herself slightly falling._

----

AN: This chapter was honestly the easiest chapter for me to write. I loved every second of it. As you can see, I made this one super long. I just really couldn't contain myself. I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I loved writing it.

**I swear, I really do have the next chapter FINISHED. I am going to wait till tomorrow afternoon or evening to post it though. **

Love love.

-Mari


	11. Just a dream

AN: "Again, again!" . Anyone ever watch Teletubbies? Baha, yeah yeah. I'm a dork.

Disclaimer: snort get real.

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Derek unlocked the door, glimpsing at his watch as he allowed the door to fall open. Behind him, the elevator whirred and he heard quiet footsteps walking up the stairs to his left. He lived respectably on the first floor. Below his apartment, the covered parking spaces to his complex led out to the busy city streets.

It had been his first day back to work and he had been worried the whole day. Lizzie had arrived just before he was to leave for work this morning and he continued to call and check in throughout the day. Lizze had relayed to him around 10 or so that Casey still was in her room, whether she was sleeping or not, Lizzie wasn't sure.

It was around lunch time when Lizzie told him Casey had been watching as she did her homework and made them lunch. She told him that Casey had bathed without her in the bathroom and she had even been able to mutter a 'Good morning.' when she emerged from the bathroom, her wet hair still sticking to her forehead.

Derek had called an hour or so before he left work, around 5, to ask if he had needed to pick anything up for dinner. In the background, he heard soft music playing and Casey giggling. As he spoke to Lizzie, he looked around his dull office and excitement of seeing Casey in almost less than an hour rang throughout his voice on the phone.

And now, as he opened the door, two bags of groceries held tightly in his right hand, he once again heard soft music playing from the kitchen.

"Hey, I'm home, you two." He called out to his apartment. He heard a small scuffle, a kitchen table chair sliding against the floor and a small pitter-patter of footsteps, before he saw Casey. As she appeared into his view, he laid the bags on the floor and she smiled widely, running to him and giving him a hug.

Derek laughed as her hands wound tightly around his neck. He tried to lean down to pick up the bags from the floor and she released him. He heard laughter as he picked the bags up, and stood straight. He saw Lizzie standing in the entrance of the kitchen and entryway, smiling at him.

He gave her a questioning look, and she pointed in the direction of his loft. Laughing, he set the groceries on the counter and took the stairs two by two.

"Hm. I wonder where Casey could be." He smiled as he heard a small giggle erupt from inside his wardrobe.

Throwing the doors open, Derek saw a flash of brown hair run down the stairs.

Derek sat on the foot of his bed and sighed, running a hand through his disheveled hair. He hadn't realized it was messed up until now, he figured it was when Casey hugged him.

Derek changed into a pair of basketball shorts and a large t-shirt before making his way to the partition. He looked below, Lizzie was preparing dinner and Casey sat at the counter on one of the tall stools, leaning over the stovetop to watch the food being cooked.

"Hey, Liz, I was thinking.. Why don't you just stay here for a little while? At least until Casey gets better. She's been improving everyday, obviously. I mean, if you'd rather stay at your place, that's fine, I just thought it would be easier for you and you wouldn't have to drive back and forth all the time."

Casey watched him as he spoke, and turned her gaze to Lizzie as she thought about it. Lizzie looked across the counter at Casey who was nodding her head ever so slightly. Lizzie smiled at Casey before glancing up at Derek again.

"We can have slumber parties." Derek grinned at her, watching as Lizzie's smile grew into a laugh.

"Fine, Derek. Only because I can't _wait _to see you in pigtails."

"Hm.. Remind me to get my haircut before then." Derek shot back at her, chuckling as he began to descend down the stairs.

------

"I'll see you in the morning, okay? I figure I'll bring some stuff over everyday." Lizzie spoke in a hushed whisper turning back to Derek in the doorway. He nodded in approval.

"Yeah, that sounds good. Thanks again, Liz. I wouldn't have been able to do this without you. She's been progressing so well. We had had a rough start but now.." Derek's words trailed off as he shifted his eyes to the brown haired girl sitting on his sofa.

"She's my sister. I needed to do this. Get some rest tonight. You look exhausted. Work that busy?"

"Work is work. I had missed a lot. I'm sure I'll be back on top soon. Just hope everything continues to go this smoothly." Derek hugged Liz goodbye and watched as she walked down the stairway.

He closed the door quietly and locked it.

"Case? It's already almost 11. Let's get to bed, how bout it?" Derek had come to stand behind the couch, his hands mindlessly playing with the ends of her hair.

Casey stood up and began to move to her bedroom, stopping shortly to give him a hug.

Derek made sure she got into her bedroom all right and made his way up to his room.

Collapsing on his bed, he shimmied under his comforter and sheets. Grabbing his favorite pillow, the one he's had since childhood, he placed it to the right of him as he rolled onto his right side. He threw his arm over the pillow and quickly fell into a slumber.

----

_"Derek?" George called into the empty house. Derek watched as his father made his way into the kitchen. He turned his head suddenly when he heard the front door open and slam closed. _

_"George! Where's Derek?" He heard Lizzie's voice, but he couldn't see her. He listened closely as he heard a bedroom door being opened upstairs. He heard someone running down the stairs and the kitchen door swinging open. _

_George was standing at the island, his head in his hands and his elbows propped against the counter. _

_"Oh, Liz. I don't know. I got a call from him, but he hasn't answered his phone since." George's worried eyes met Lizzie's, the expressions matching. _

_Derek, invisible to them, dug in his pockets finding his cell phone. He flipped it open and saw missed calls. He noticed the voice message symbol blinking at him. As he listened to the automated voice come on, he held his breath, waiting for the messages to start rolling. _

_"Derek, can you please call me back as soon as you can? It isn't nice, leaving your father out of your life, you know."_

_"Derek. It's Liz. I know what you're going through, please, call me back. Nora's worried about you." _

_"Derek, it's your dad again. Listen, come home. Let's talk about this." _

_Derek exhaled, confused as ever. He was about to shut off his phone before he heard one last message about to start. _

_"Derek? Hey, it's Casey. My mom, Liz, and I are going to be gone longer than we thought, there's a lot of traffic on the road. We're still in the car, but we should be home hopefully soon. Let George know, will you? I don't want him worrying about my mom and us. And Derek? It was really nice seeing you this break. Gotta go, Dere. The light just turned green."_

_He closed the phone shut. He watched his dad rub at his tired eyes._

_"What do I do, Liz? Nora's been locked in our bedroom all day. How are you handling this so well?"_

_"George, my mom just needs time. I know Casey wouldn't have wanted us moping because of her. If she were still here, you know she'd be nagging at us all and complaining that the house is a complete mess, no dinner has been made, and Derek __**still**__ hasn't come back with the car yet." _

_George laughed without humor lacing it. _

_"Derek's taking this pretty hard. Ever since back at the hospital. We're all going to miss Casey. Edwin has been taking care of Marti all day, thankfully. I don't know what we would have done."_

_"If Case were here, she'd already be planning, you know that right?"_

_"I know..I just don't know how to get started. She always took care of this stuff for us. All that planning and thinking ahead, getting on top of things. That's not us. That was her."_

_"I don't think she would have known how to plan a funeral, either. I just know she'd try. No matter how hard it would be."_

_Funeral. A funeral? For Casey? Casey's not the one who died. It was Nora. Nora died in the accident. _

---

Derek woke up quickly. He had willed his eyes to open, not wanting to go through with that dream. Trying to rid the dream from his mind, he shook his head a little. His eyes searched the darkness and his hands groped for the pillow he had been holding. Instead, he felt warmth next to him.

Averting his eyes down to the bed, he saw Casey's head lying on his pillow next to him. The pillow he'd gone to sleep holding. Without waking her, Derek shifted back underneath the covers, sliding them out from under her and pulling them on top of her. Turning to his right side again, he slipped his arm around her waist before falling asleep again.

---

AN: Man, let me tell you. This chapter was actually hard to get out. I just wanted y'all to see the Dasey progression.

Love love.


	12. The search

AN: Gah, I am so sorry. I know, I know. No excuses. But seriously, I never ever meant to stray away from this story for so long. Thankfully, I'm just getting into the feeling of it a lot more than before. Like, 500 times more than before. This story needs to be told from my mind or I won't be able to sleep at night anymore.

So, once again, I'm sorry. I hope this doesn't affect any of my readers opinions of the story. It's still here, and is **refusing **to go away any time soon.

----------

"Mr. Venturi? You have a call on line one from your sister Lizzie." At the sound of the loud intercom filling his office, Derek jumped.

"Thanks, Cheryl. Go ahead and patch it through to me."

Moments later, he heard the sound of Lizzie's voice. He could tell something was wrong just by the way she greeted him.

"What's wrong Liz? Don't try lying either, you know I'll just see right through it." Derek chuckled into the phone. He frowned at the pause over the other line.

"..She's gone? How is she just gone, Lizzie?"

"You thought I was just leaving late for work when you heard the door close? Liz, when was the last time I ever left late for work? No, I'm sorry. I'll go out looking for her. Don't worry. Stay there in case she comes home. Yeah, I'll see you later Liz. Don't worry about it."

Derek threw the phone down and grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair. He quickly dialed the number to his boss's, and friend's, extension.

"Venturi. What's up?"

"Hey, I have to go out for a bit. There's been a big problem at home."

"Oh, man. Alright. I hope everything gets sorted out. And Derek? Honestly, was it a bit too soon for you to return back to work?"

"Chris, I really.. don't know. I just have to go find Casey, she got out of the apartment this morning."

"Let me know later on." With that, the phone went dead.

Derek left the office, waving bye to Lisa as he walked past. Taking the stairs by two in the parking garage, he threw his car into life.

Derek thought back to that dream he'd had only nights before. He couldn't but feel it was a sign that something would happen. He had to talk to Casey about the accident. But first he had to **find** Case.

As he began driving, he searched the sidewalks hoping to see the brown-haired beauty. When he was just 5 minutes from his apartment, he passed the park they had gone to about a week ago. Quickly finding a parking spot, he figured it wouldn't hurt to look in here. It was the only place Casey had gone since arriving at his home. He hoped she was looking for familiar ground.

As he walked along the same path, he began to feel hopeless. All around him, businessmen and women were cutting through the park, talking on their cell phones, eating a quick snack, just trying to get back to the office where their suits were the only thing that fit in that environment to them. He realized he must have looked like all of them. Taking a break from all the fast-paced deals and conversations that always ensued in the office.

Just as he was crossing the bridge, he saw her. She lay in the small patch where they'd been before. As he slowly approached her, he stopped dead in his tracks. The morning sun hit her face, adding a glow to her skin. A small smile graced her face. And in her hands, she twirled a daisy.

"I was thinking about Mom." She whispered to Derek, without even opening her eyes. He had to strain his ears to her hear over the water rushing behind them, of the birds chirping all around them, and the leaves rustling over them.

Derek sat down beside her and stared out across the park. He watched as a pair of college students sat on the grass, one with an open book in front of them and the other sitting beside them, laughing and repeatedly turning the pages of the book. Derek couldn't help but smile. Glancing away from the pair, he looked down at Casey. He realized she would never get a chance to have that. To have that carefree feeling that college, and a real first love relationship, can give you.

"You scared us, Case. We didn't know where you went." He mumbled to her. Casey opened her eyes and looked up at him.

"Sorry," she spoke hesitantly, "Derek, what happened?" Casey sat up slightly, leaning on her elbows and looking expectantly at Derek.

"Case..I don't know if we should ta--" Derek was cut off by Casey shaking her head vigorously.

"I need to know, please?" Casey's eyes pleaded to Derek.

"Come here." Derek opened his arms out in front of himself, motioning for her to join them.

As she shifted into his open arms, she leaned her head against his right knee that was bent at her shoulder. His arms wrapped around her frame and he sighed quietly.

"You had just come home to visit Nora and Lizzie. It was the first time y'all had seen eachother in a while so y'all decided to go out of town for a few days, relax and catch up." Derek began recounting the memories he'd hoped to conceal a little longer, before having to push them back into Casey's already fragile mind.

"And we decided to come home later than we'd expected.." Casey finished for him. Willing her eyes to clear the images running behind her closed lids, willing the pain to smother against the feel of Derek sitting behind her. Casey tensed her body up, almost like a cat ready to pounce, not sure of what to do.

Derek felt Casey, felt her remembering. He sighed and squeezed his arms a little tighter around her shoulders, making sure she knew where she was, that she was here and not in the past. She didn't need to remember yet.

"Case, come on. We should go back to the apartment. Lizzie is worried sick right now. She needs to know you're safe, alright?" Derek slowly untangled his arms from her body and began to climb to his feet.

Casey nodded and set the daisy on the ground. She looked up at Derek with a somber look. Derek met her eyes, matching the pain shining through them like the sun's first rays on a cold morning. Casey looked away quickly and silently got up. She walked to his car in silence and stared out the window, watching the busy people run through their lives, not knowing that her heart was breaking.


	13. The Tears Fell

Oy! I am sorry. I have NOT forgotten about this story. I AM getting more time to work on it now that school has almost come to an end(2 days left for me) and I WILL post another update in a couple days time. I promise, I promise, I promise.

I ask again, that you forgive me. If you have given up on me, I can deal but please, do not give up on the story. I know I won't until I get it finished.

With love,

Mari

--

"Oh, thank God you found her, Derek." Lizzie ran towards the door as soon as the two figures appeared. "And shame on you, Case. You gave me a heart attack. I was so worried." Lizzie glared her eyes slightly at Casey, hoping Casey would understand and learn not to repeat this again.

Casey defeatingly shrugged her shoulders and pushed between Lizzie and Derek, making Derek's hand fall from the small of her back where it had been previously resting. Casey stumbled somberly into her bedroom and closed the door with a soft click.

"What happened, Derek?" Lizzie questioned him, her eyes pensive and confused.

"She asked about Nora, Liz, she's beginning to remember what happened 2 years ago and I don't know if she's ready for it. Hell, I don't know if we're even ready for it. A storm's brewing, Liz. We just have to wait for Casey to finally hit it before things can get better." Derek began walking to the stairs and sighed. "I'm going to lay down for a bit. You can watch TV or something." Derek gave a small wave before starting the walk up.

"I think I'm going to go out for a bit. Go shopping or maybe go and see Edwin. I'll be back before dinner." Lizzie called after Derek, shaking her head and sighing. She knew she'd have to talk to Casey about the accident. She'd need to be there for Casey and take care of this for Derek. He'd sacrificed so much for Case that she knew he deserved some peace.

Lizzie left the apartment and locked the door behind her. No need for any more Casey Runaways.

--

Derek woke, suddenly, to the sounds of screaming.

He threw the sheets off of him and dashed down the stairs going directly for her room first. When he saw it empty, he turned hoping to locate Casey before the screaming began again.

As he was about to check the other bedroom across the hall, he saw a slight movement to his right and heard whimpers escaping the bathroom. Sighing heavily, out of relief, he made his way cautiously to the place where his lost angel stood.

As his footsteps made hollow sounds against the wood floors, Casey turned and stared directly in his eyes. Raising her hand she pointed to something on the wall. As he got closer he peered into the bathroom to see what she was intimating at.

Her reflection.

"Casey? It's just you," Derek moved into her line of sight in the mirror, "it's just you and it's just me."

Casey shook her head roughly scowling at his words. Tears flew from her eyes as she continued to disagree with him. As Derek saw her tears, he gently cupped her face in his hands preventing her from shaking anymore. He sighed and looked into her eyes. They were so lost and confused, even more different from earlier on escapade.

Derek leaned in and kissed her forehead. Slowly bringing his hands away from her face he spoke gently and quietly, not wanting to break her from the trance his eyes captured her in.

"Come on, let's get out of here. I just want to talk to some, okay? I think it's time I told you some things." He picked her hand up in one of his own and softly pulled her from the bathroom, leading her back to his own room in the loft.

Casey carefully sat at the end of the bed, like she'd done before, and looked around his room slightly shaking her head again. Derek watched her eyes as they moved from a pile of his dirty clothes to an overflowing trashcan, a few pieces of trash littering the area around it. Her head shook even more as her gaze landed on dirty dishes sitting on his bedside table. Derek chuckled to himself as he imagined her tsking her tongue in her old nagging manner.

"I've let my room get pretty messy since you came here, it seems more important matters need tending to than my room." Derek spoke, almost too loudly, breaking the silent revere Casey had been in. Instantly, her eyes locked on him and watched as he made his way to the trashcan. He stuck his foot in the bin hoping to make more room for the trash surrounding it to no avail.

Giving up on trying to clean some, he sat on a side of his bed and lowered his head. He prayed, not to God, but to Nora. He hoped he could get through what he needed to tell Casey.

"Casey, I don't know where to start. I honestly don't know what to do anymore. You deserve to know what's happened in the past two years, I want you to be able to be yourself again. I want you to be able to reprimand me, yeah I said reprimand, it's a big word, I know, about my room being a pigsty. I want you to be able to look at me and not seem terrified to be living. I want to see you smile again and live your life like you should have - happily..." Derek's voice broke as he continued to stare at his hands, fighting back the onset of tears that threatened to show how weak he actually was. "I want you to feel how it feels to love someone unconditionally and not be scared that something bad could be waiting around the corner. Jesus, Casey." Derek began to quickly wipe the tears that fell, trying to get control of his shaking voice,

Casey looked over her shoulder back at Derek. She saw him looking crumpled, she saw him looking as lost as she felt.

"Most of all..I want you to just live..I want you to be able to go through your life without fearing water, or TVs, or glass..I want to make everything better for you. I want to take care of you. I want to make you capable of feeling free for once in the past 2 years. There are no ties on your bed, or fake medicine in little cups, or, or fake freaking smiles. All there is is the people who love you. There's me and there's Lizzie and there's George and Ed and Marti. All of us miss you. All of us want you to smile. To pull through this." Derek no longer cared about his cracking voice or the tears rolling down his face or the taste of salt in his mouth. He didn't care about holding it back anymore.

He looked at Casey through a blurred vision. He saw that she no longer sat at the end of the bed with her back to him. She now stood directly in front of him, a foot in-between them. As more tears fell from his eyes, Casey kneeled right in front of his sitting form. Without saying a word, Casey draped her head on his knees. Sighing quietly and allowed her flowing her to tumble over his legs.

"I'm sorry, Derek.." Casey whispered as her own tears began to fall, making small wet circles on his pants. She lifted herself off his knees and began to lean over towards his face. As she lifted his chin to meet her eyes, she started to slowly and methodically wipe away his own tears, still letting her own drop her face.

Derek smiled lightly at her through his tears and began wiping her own away.

Derek pulled away from her as an idea came to him and he smiled at her.

"Casey..Can I ask you a question?"

I'm sorry, but personally, I was crying the whole time as I wrote this.


	14. The song

Casey searched Derek's eyes and nodded uneasily. She didn't want him to ask her anything too trivial.

"Will you come with me somewhere?" Derek asked, hope lacing his voice thoroughly.

Her gaze unwavering, Casey nodded more suredly.

--

"Here we are, Case." Derek spoke for the first time in the car as he put his car into park, the bright 'P' attracting Casey's eyes to the console. Quickly, her eyes were distracted by movement in the window of the building they parked in front of.

Derek climbed out of his car, jogging to the other side to help unbuckle Casey. By the time he got her door open, she'd already unbuckled herself. Gaping, Derek looked at her and she smiled shyly at him. Derek grinned back at her, grabbing her hand quickly. Adrenaline was rushing through his veins, it felt like his first kiss when he was younger all over again. He'd shown her a moment of his weakness but through that weakness he made this current decision.

As they lazily strolled to the store doors, Casey stared at the images through the windows. She smiled a little and watched as the puppies tossed about eachother, tugging at their siblings ears and nipping lightly.

Derek met the store owner at the counter and asked to see what he was there to see. Casey met him just as the owner took them to a row of small crates, little mews calling from them. Casey's eyes widened at the sound and stared at the linoleum flooring. It was bleached white, but still little spots of yellow could be seen around the store.

Derek shook her hand a little to get her attention, his loose watch jingling a little by the movement. He nodded at her and gestured for her to look in the crates. He let her hand go and began to shuffle her towards one.

As soon as she stood in front of it, a small black kitten with a white nose, white paws, and white tip of the tail came up to them, meowing the whole way. Casey watched as Derek reached his hand against the crate door and pet the kitten with his index finger as it brushed itself against the door. Gently, he grabbed her hand and led it to the animal. When her hand was met with soft fur and a consistent purr rumbling throughout the small body, she instantly looked at Derek.

Derek saw the hope gleaming in her eyes. He smiled at her and walked away to find the owner, looking back every now and then to check up on her. He saw that she wasn't moving at all away from the cage.

--

"Geez, Case. It looks like we bought out the whole store." Derek said, dramatically setting down the last of the 8 plastic bags. Casey sat on the couch mesmerized by the still meowing kitten. Derek lingered at the doorway watching the spectacle in front of him. He'd hoped his idea would allow her to be a little bit happier and by watching the scene play out in front of him, he saw that it just might have worked.

"You want to help me unpack a lot of this stuff? We can put his food dish over here," Derek gestured to the kitchen underneath the counter, next to the stool she always sat in when he cooked, "and we can put his bed and maybe some of his toys in your bedroom. Would you like that?"

Casey looked up at him, allowing her gaze to leave the now purring kitten. She nodded at him and stood to search through the bags with him. As she began to walk towards him, Derek saw the kitten jump off the couch and follow Casey's footsteps.

"It looks as though you might have a tiny shadow." Derek grinned wildly at her and laughed when she glanced back and smiled to herself. She walked a little faster to him, her eyes now trained on the kitten as it skittered after her.

Casey looked at Derek and let out a very quiet giggle.

Derek's eyes softened and he began to file this memory into his brain. He wanted to remember this forever, he wanted to be able to tell her all about this moment when she could freely laugh, without feeling held back by a pain that continually filled her mind.

The instant she met him, weaved through the bags, and gently placed her arms around Derek's form, he knew he'd had a good idea.

--

Derek woke the next morning by himself. No screams, no whimpers, just silence. He padded down the stairs of his loft and scratched at his chest. He knew he would have to call in to work. He knew Chris, his boss and friend, would understand. Chris had befriended him since day one and knew what had happened to Casey. He also knew how much Casey meant to him.

He crept to Casey's door, hoping that the wood flooring would grace him with stealth and not creak beneath his feet.

He closed his eyes pleading that now the door would not squeak open like it's done before. Silently, the door swung open. Before him Casey was wrapped in her bed, the small kitten sleeping peacefully on her pillow. He looked at the dejected cat bed and smiled. His plan had worked.

Leaving her room, allowing the door to hang open, he slipped into the living room. He thrust open the long curtains that hung before the windows to peer out to the bustling lives outside.

He opened the double doors to the balcony and allowed the fresh morning air flow in, a small breeze rustling the napkins on the counter. Derek breathed in heavily. He began to recall everything that's happened in the past couple weeks.

He knew that quickly Casey had become extremely important to him. He knew that he wanted to protect her from everything and anything that could hurt her.

Casually, Derek began to go around the apartment opening windows to let the sun and world into his previously dark home. Derek paused, midstep, as he saw something in his perephial vision. Casey was standing in the hallway entrance, the now awake kitten cradled in her arms.

"Case, it's a beautiful day outside! Just look at it!" Casey watched as Derek begin to pace around his apartment, still opening windows. She smiled lightly.

"Hey, you wanna try something today? I know we've made a lot of headway with your whole 'fear of water' bit- which was bogus, just so you know," Derek said laughingly to Casey, "I just figured that maybe we can work with the radio. There's a really exceptional song I want you to hear, I think you'll like it. My ex, Sarah, loved it, and when Lizzie heard it she loved it too." Derek looked over at Casey and saw that she was now sitting on the couch, petting the kitten lovingly. "You'll have to think of a name for him too, you know."

Just then, the shrilling tone of the phone ringing pierced through the air. Derek went to answer and Casey stood and followed, questioning eyes boaring into his back.

"Hello?...Speak of the freaking Devil, hey Lizzie! I was just mentioning to Casey that I want her to hear that one song. The slow one...yeah. That one..Oh really? Damn..No, no I understand that you can't come by. You have things to take care of...Ye-...Yeah, actually you just reminded me to call my boss in. I was going to take today off anyways...No things are fine here. I got Casey a kitten...Oh shutup. I'm not a horrible pet owner. You wouldn't even know. And not only that, the cat isn't for me, it's for her..Yeah, yeah, yeah. Stop nagging me..Haha, fine. I'll talk to you later...Bye, love you too." Derek hung up the phone and glanced at Casey's curious eyes.

"Well, so it seems Lizzie can't come by today. You want to..maybe, listen to that song while I make breakfast, and then we can sit around and goof off all day? Play with that furball of yours and name him? I'll order pizza or chinese, whichever you want, for dinner and we can binge out with snacks for lunch. How does that sound?"

Casey nodded earnestly at Derek, knowing he was trying to help.

"I'm going to call my boss and then we can get this show on the road. You want to shower while I do that?" Derek asked nervously, hoping she'd take the bait. He sighed in relief as she did.

--

"Okay, now Casey, remember if this gets to be too much for you, just tell me. Say 'stop'. One word, can you do that for me?" Derek waited for her hesitated nod before going to the CD player and hitting number 5.

Casey tensed slightly as the soft strum of guitars filled the apartment. Her ears zoned into the music, allowing the city noises of cars honking and people chittering away loudly on their cell phones to fade away into the distance.

_  
"He used to be everything to me," She said_

_"I still can't believe he's gone, it's been so long.."_

Casey's eyes quickly met Derek's as the first lines were sung.

_He changed the way she gazed upon life_

_Valued something more than money could buy_

Derek watched as slowly, her body begin to relax, but still not quite enough.

_  
His voice was her lullaby_

_He still pays her a visit from time to time_

_In a ballroom setting of the night sky_

Casey bent down and set the kitten to the floor, watching it as it skittered to its food and water dish.

_  
"Do you believe in love at first sight?"_

_He still says with a smile_

_"Dance with me tonight.._

_Anna Rose, I won't let you go till tomorrow.."_

Casey shifted uneasily in her stool, hoping Derek wouldn't notice. Her gaze landed on his and her hopes were dashed out the open windows when he walked to the CD player and hit pause.

"Would you like me to turn it off?" Derek asked.

"Don't stop." Casey's short reply came out loudly, too loudly to her own ears. She waited for the melody to course through her body again before relaxing.

_  
She waits patiently for the night to come_

_Holding on to dreams, the way he was_

_Recalling all the walks to the edge of the sea_

_Memories carved into the willow tree_

_There are so many things that make her cry_

_Till she returns to dance to the night sky_

Casey's eyes shifted close as the chorus began to ring through the apartment all over again.

_  
"Do you believe in love at first sight?"_

_He still says with a smile_

_"Dance with me tonight.._

_Anna Rose, I won't let you go till tomorrow.."_

Her heart began to quicken as she felt the end of the song nearing.

_  
She slips away from the world that brings her so much pain_

_Never seems to change_

_She escapes through this dream over and over again_

Instantly, Derek and Casey's eyes met and Derek walked quickly to her, wrapping his arms around her now standing form. He felt her shoulders shake and he rubbed her back and hair, kissing the top of her head gently.

_  
"Do you believe in love at first sight?"_

_He still says with a smile_

_"Dance with me tonight.._

_Anna Rose, I'll never let you go, see you tomorrow.."_

Derek released as the song ended and the guitar grew quiet.

As Casey pulled away, she looked at Derek and whispered one word that gave her the hope that she would be okay with his help.

"Again?"

--

The song is called 'Anna Rose' by an amazing band- J Minus.

Check them out on MySpace and listen to it, maybe you'll be able to get a better feel for how it goes. I'm all about connecting my readers to the story itself. I only hope that this will help.

Once again, my apologies for the delay.

Until next time, which will be soon, love always.

-Mari


	15. UPDATE!

Everyone! Oh, my gosh! I'm so sorry!

After getting a random private message about this story, I figured I'd go back and take a peek at it.

I WILL be finishing this story here in the upcoming months.

I WILL be working my butt off to get it done, too!

and! Most importantly- I WILL do this story justice. I won't rush it just to get it done.

I'm so so sorry to keep it in the dark for SO long.

Patience, my lovely readers (if I still have any out there!)

Be expecting a chapter very very very soon.


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